


A Lifetime of Love

by captainamergirl



Category: The Bold and the Beautiful
Genre: Eric and Donna, F/M, Gen, I loved them, Reunited and It Feels So Good, True Love, What Should Have Been, age is just a number
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-19
Updated: 2020-12-17
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:15:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 32
Words: 20,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23726677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/captainamergirl/pseuds/captainamergirl
Summary: She loved him. He loved her. It was both as simple and as complicated as that. {Eric/Donna endgame}Age is just a number.
Relationships: Eric Forrester/Donna Logan
Kudos: 2





	1. Immortal

**Author's Note:**

> The bulk of this story takes place around the time Justin & Donna divorced. Eric and Stephanie were together but not married at the time. I hope you enjoy this!

**1 - Immortal**  
  
She had truly believed that he was going to live forever. He was Eric Forrester. He was _supposed_ to live forever. Never mind that he was nearly thirty years her senior; it didn't matter because he was Eric and he was a Forrester and that was a legacy that simply didn't die.   
  
_Ever._   
  
She couldn't begin to figure out how she would survive once he was gone; how she would go on without him. She didn't think any of them would ever figure that out. He had meant so much to so many people. He was Stephanie's sometimes husband but always constant friend; he was Brooke's calm in the storm; the one man she could always depend on to never hurt her. He was Taylor's father figure who supported her in every way. He was his children's rock; their mentor. He was his grandchildren's light. And to her, he was her ... _everything..._  
  
She had to lock herself into a state of denial long after the diagnosis came back to endure it all. They had only just found each other again; they couldn't lose each other. Not again; not forever. She didn't want to believe he was going to leave her. She didn't want to let him go even as the clock kept ticking on and as the end seemed more inevitable. However, the closer he came to the end - the closer they both did - she denied everything more and buried deeper into her self-constructed cocoon.   
  
There would be an eleventh hour reprieve; _there had to be.._


	2. Speak

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Starting with this drabble, we got back in time a bit to see how Donna and Eric got back together. Reminder: Stephanie is alive but not currently married to Eric.

**Speak**   
  
He noticed her holed up in a corner of Dayzee's staring miserably into a coffee cup and something tugged at him. He and Stephanie were giving it "the old college try" again but something about Donna still drew him like a moth to a flame. He couldn't stay away. Especially when she looked so miserable. He reasoned they could talk as friends; it had been a longtime since they had done that.  
  
"Donna," he said, moving over to her table.  
  
She jumped, having apparently been so lost in her sad thoughts that she hadn't noticed him approaching. She looked up and offered him a weak, watery smile. "Eric."  
  
"May I?" He said, gesturing to the empty chair across from her.  
  
"Of course," she answered, watching as he pulled back the chair and slipped into it. "What are you doing here? Never mind, everyone needs coffee ..."  
  
Eric nodded. Was there some part of her that wished he had come specifically looking for her? There was definitely some part of him that wished he had been there for her a lot sooner. Stubborn pride had kept him away this long...  
  
He had heard about her impending divorce; of course he had and he felt truly sorry for her. He had been divorced so many times and it never, ever got easier. His last divorce ... well, it had been the hardest one ever and he hoped to never repeat that experience again which is why every time Stephanie openly "hinted" at wanting a ring, he had to come up with some excuse to prolong that event. Divorcing Donna - though he had thought it was the right thing to do at the time - had been crippling.  
  
Donna looked up at him then, her expression full of sad realization. "You know," she said simply. So many emotions in that statement, so few words.  
  
"I know," he admitted. And that's all he had to say too for her to know he still cared.


	3. Home Alone

** Home Alone **  
  
The following night found Donna alone at the beach house, slowly packing up the things Justin was taking with him back to Chicago. She wanted to do this little thing for him even if he hadn't asked; somehow she wanted to make him see she still cared even if things hadn't worked out in the end. God knows they had tried so damn hard to recreate the magic they once shared in high school, but it had been too much work; too much effort to keep a marriage together with a person you didn't even know anymore and didn't have anything in common with.   
  
They tried to be what they had loved about each when they were seventeen years old, but those feelings simply could not be recreated and the marriage collapsed within a year. It was tragic and Donna felt so badly for letting Justin believe she could be what he had needed and wanted. Worse, their son, the best thing to ever come out of their union, was devastated that his father was leaving town when they were just getting so close. Donna tried to assure Marcus things would work out for the best but she didn't even believe that herself.  
  
She wished someone was here to talk to (one of her sisters, preferably) as she sorted through Justin's high school belongings and found an old yearbook that was chockfull of pictures of them together. Theirs had been an unconventional relationship even back then but other students had liked them enough to vote them "Cutest Couple" two years in a row. Donna sat down with the book in her hands and soon her tears were wetting the pages. She finally shoved it aside in frustration and heartbreak.  
  
The phone suddenly rang, jarring her back to her senses. She slowly moved over to it, feeling like she was eighty years old due to her emotional exhaustion, and picked it up. "Hello," she said quietly. She was immediately surprised at hearing the familiar voice on the other end.  
  
"Donna, it's Eric," her ex-husband greeted her.  
  
"Eric, hi ... What's up?"  
  
"I just wanted to make sure that you are doing alright. After seeing you yesterday at the coffeehouse... You seemed so upset ..." Eric sounded fairly unsure of himself which he never was. Perhaps he felt it wasn't his place to be making this phone call but she didn't care if it was the proper thing or not right now. She was just glad to hear from him again. He always made her feel so much better just by being the gentle soul he was.  
  
"Thanks for calling," Donna said. "It's hard. I'm actually just packing up Justin's things now ..."  
  
"I'm sorry."  
  
"Me, too," Donna said. "But I appreciate you showing you care after everything that happened between us."  
  
"I'll always care about you, Donna, always," Eric said and she smiled her first true smile in months.


	4. Paint

**4 - Paint**   
  
Donna had heard that women always changed their looks after a particularly hard breakup. That had been true with Eric. She had gotten really, really fat after they ended things. It took months to take off all the weight in time for her eventual nuptials to Justin. And now Justin was gone too. He had left for Chicago months ago and the official divorce decree would be delivered any day. It was depressing as hell and Donna was immediately tempted to drown herself in a vat of Ben and Jerry's like she had before. But this time she decided to be more proactive about changing things. She had never really liked the beige paint Justin had selected for all the rooms in the house when they bought the place though of course she had said she did just to keep the peace. She had quietly anticipated even then that they were on shaky ground and that the only way she and Justin could make it together, was if she didn't upset the status quo. And she had been right because once things started to change between them; they were never able to communicate again.  
  
Sitting in the beach house night after night, pathetically staring at the walls, she hated the beige color more and more. One night that hatred got so potent, burning like venom in her veins, that she grabbed her keys off the table and rushed out the door to the local hardware store. She thought about buying a light baby blue color but as she was heading to pay, she spotted another can full of brilliant crayon-red paint. She knew she had to have that. Some women changed their hairstyle after a difficult breakup but Donna; she would instead change the scenery in her lonely place.  
  
She went home with that can of red paint plus five more cans and began smearing the walls with the brilliant clownish color the second she dug out some old paintbrushes from the garage. She realized they were small artist's brushes that were more ideal for painting a canvas but she didn't care.   
  
As she smeared paint everywhere, she smiled a little. These brushes were, come to think of it, Eric's old ones. She must have packed them accidentally when she moved out of the Forrester mansion for the last time. Somehow it always came back to Eric. That man was in her blood and she knew somehow he always would be.  
  
She slathered on the paint and then opened all the doors to let it air dry. She had painted into the wee hours of the morning and had not even finished the living room though, let alone the rest of the house. She realized she needed help with this big of a chore. She thought of calling Marcus but knew he was really busy planning his engagement to Steffy. Yes those crazy kids had seemed to resolve their old issues and were altar-bound. It was total insanity but Donna would support her son in whatever he wanted and he apparently wanted Steffy Forrester.  
  
Her next thought was to call Katie but Katie had her hands full with Bill always plotting ways to get rid of Amber and Amber's little "spawn" as he coldly called his grandchild. Donna could phone Brooke but she didn't want to. She realized she wanted to call Eric and ask him to come over. It may have been pathetic of her to want that as much as she did but she reasoned, it was just painting. It wasn't a crime. Not even Stephanie could throw a fit about something so innocent. Well Stephanie actually could and would but Donna still wanted to call Eric.  
  
And so she did.


	5. Under pressure

**5 - Under pressure**   
  
The call from Donna came in at exactly six a.m. and Eric had arrived at the beach house by six-thirty. "Hey," she greeted him self-consciously as she opened the door. She wasn't sure why she had called him and now all the doubts and frustrations were coming back. "I can't believe you came."   
  
Eric offered her a smile. "I said I'd be here, didn't I?" he asked.   
  
Donna nodded. "Yeah you did... You're always there for me but Stephanie ..."   
  
"Never mind Stephanie. Don't worry about her today."   
  
Donna sighed as she let Eric into the beach house. He let out a low whistle as his eyes fell on the walls. "Cherry red," he said. "I can't remember the last time I saw a house painted this color. In fact, I don't think I ever have."   
  
She brushed her wild, unkempt hair out of her face. "Yeah it was impulsive of me. I just wanted something different than the same old, same old so I went kind of crazy and -"   
  
Eric's hands were suddenly on either of her forearms, giving each of them light squeezes. "Donna, relax, okay? If you wanted red -"   
  
"That's the problem. I don't know what I want anymore," Donna said as tears trickled down her face. "I just know I am going insane."   
  
Eric shook his head. "You're not, alright? You're not going insane. But you are under a ton of pressure. That much is obvious. Why don't you take a few days off from work and just go on a vacation or something? You would feel so much better. And by the time you got home, I could have this whole place painted and looking in perfect shape."   
  
"Why are you so sweet to me?" Donna asked. "After everything I did to destroy our marriage?"   
  
"You're a hard woman to stay mad at," Eric said simply and squeezed her arms lightly again before letting go of his hold on her. She missed his touch already. It was pathetic but there it was.   
  
She watched him go over and pick up the paintbrushes. "These are not going to cut it."   
  
"I know," Donna said. "But they're your old ones ..."   
  
"I see that," Eric said with a smile. "But we need better brushes to work with so I'll run down to the local hardware store and -"   
  
"Eric, it wouldn't even been open yet. Besides, I just remembered. It's Wednesday. It's board meeting day. You'll need your rest..."   
  
"You remember my schedule," he said in surprise.   
  
"Yes," she admitted. Donna used to help get him ready every Wednesday for the long board meeting ahead by ironing his suits and once he was dressed, working his tie for him, her hand lingering on his chest for a moment. She would cook him a hearty breakfast and then promise she would be around when he got back. She had always kept that promise until he wouldn't let her anymore.    
  
She shook her head. "Forget about all of this. I shouldn't have called and I shouldn't have bothered you. I am sure Stephanie is sticking pins in my voodoo doll right now anyway."   
  
Eric laughed at that and Donna felt her own lips twitching in a smile. How was it that he could always make her feel so much better?


	6. Kiss

**6 - Kiss**   
  
Eric insisted on calling into the office and cancelling the board meeting. That was the first one he had failed to show up for in the last fifteen years. Donna felt badly for letting him do that for her but she knew that she couldn't have changed his mind then.   
  
He predictably took a very loud verbal beating from Stephanie over the phone. Donna could hear the older woman using words like "tramp", "slut" and "home wrecker" very liberally. It was not hard to guess that Stephanie believed Donna was seducing Eric into bed right now or already had which was not the case. Donna would be lying if she told herself she didn't still have deep feelings for Eric but she couldn't possibly act on them, could she? It hurt too much when things went south for them and they certainly would again. She knew she had bad luck with every man but losing Eric had nearly destroyed her. She couldn't go through that again. Not even if it meant she spent the whole rest of her life being celibate.   
  
She fixed Eric a bagel and cup of coffee (that was all she had lying around the beach house) and then he went off to buy new paintbrushes. He didn't attempt to change her mind on the blood-red color of the paint. That wasn't his way and she appreciated that he let her make her own decisions, even if they were screwed up.   
  
When he returned from the local hardware store, he put a thicker, more sizable brush into her hand and dipped one of his own into a can and they started painting. They didn't speak to each other but the silence was charged with a million different emotions. Donna and Eric looked at each other occasionally and she could tell he was trying as hard as she was to pay attention to the task. However things got dicey when he dripped paint on his shirt and her hand immediately shot out in a vain attempt to wipe it away, as if she even could.   
  
"Donna, it's just paint," he said.   
  
"But it's such a nice shirt ..."   
  
"Donna, it's still just a shirt. Relax, okay?"   
  
She started to protest but she felt her hand swell on his rising chest and then he was leaning over and kissing her. The kiss was like sex, heat, comfort and coming home all at once. She gave into the kiss as it became deeper but then common sense finally fought its way to the surface and she pulled away.   
  
"Eric, we can't."   
  
"Donna, we're both consenting adults here."   
  
"You and Stephanie ..."   
  
"We're not getting married again if that's what you mean."   
  
"No, but she thinks you're coming home to her and as for me, I can't - I can't go there again. I want to - God knows I do - but I can't. I love you, Eric, and I won't be able to stand it if you kick me out of your life again. So I guess all I can say is, you'd better leave now before this goes any further. I knew I wanted this when I called you but I didn't believe it could happen. It can't go any further because I can't be hurt again, Eric. I won't be. Because it will shatter me for sure next time."


	7. Over

** 7 – Over **  
  
“It’s over, Eric; I’ve known that for a long time. I didn’t want it to be over but –“ Donna was silenced by Eric grabbing her by the shoulders and pulling her to him. He kissed her passionately and thoroughly. She felt weak in the knees as they devoured each other’s hungry lips.  
  
Finally, they pulled back and Donna touched her now impossibly puffy lips. “Wow… I… don’t know what to say.”  
  
“Say that you liked it,” Eric urged, “or I’ll feel very inept.”  
  
“No, Eric, don’t feel that way. It was amazing, lovely... One of the best kisses you ever gave me and there were many that made my legs turn to Jell-O… But we’re done. We’ve been done for awhile now. You’re with Stephanie and I’m –“  
  
“You’re not with anyone, Donna.”  
  
“I know. I’m alone.”  
  
“You don’t have to be.”  
  
“Eric-“  
  
“I was stubborn, Donna. You hurt me so I pushed for a divorce because I wanted to hurt you back. Hearing that you married Justin … Well, is it any wonder why I rushed to be with Stephanie again? I didn’t want to be alone and I love her but if I’m honest with myself, it’s been a long time since I desired her the way I do you; a long time since I was in love with her and even when I was it was a different level of love. I love her as the mother of my children, as my confidant, my friend, my equal, but it’s still you, Donna. You’re still in my blood.”  
  
Donna’s eyes misted with tears. “If that’s true, why did it take you so long – until this very moment – to say something?”  
  
“Stubbornness, as I said. Plus a hell of a lot of pride. We Forrester men have that in spades.”  
  
Donna nodded. “I’ve noticed.”  
  
“The question is, Donna, do you still love me the way I love you? Do you even believe that I never stopped loving you?”  
  
“Well… I know I never stopped loving you. You were the most wonderful surprise of my life. I think one reason it didn’t work with Justin was that amazing as he is, he’s not you. No one is. And I wanted you. I still do. I always will. But I can’t and won’t compete with Stephanie.”  
  
“You don’t have to. Being here with you … This is where I truly want to be.”  
  
“What are you saying?”  
  
“I am admitting that I can’t deny my own happiness anymore; I won’t… Donna, I want you back. I want us to be together and I want us to last.”  
  
“Stephanie will never understand. Likely, she’ll sic Pam on me again.”  
  
“Then we’ll handle everyone together.”  
  
“You really mean that?”  
  
Eric reached for her left hand, placing it over his chest. “With all of my still beating heart.”  
  
“Oh, Eric,” Donna whispered and then pulled him into another kiss – this one even more passionate and full of heart and love than the one that proceeded it. Donna shivered as she felt Eric going for the buttons on her blouse. She wanted this, she wanted to be loved on and held by him; more than anything actually, but if they were going to be together and make it last, this time they had to do everything the right way.  
  
Donna lightly disentangled from his embrace. “Go back to Stephanie.”  
  
“Donna, no.”  
  
“Yes. I don’t mean you should be with her but you do need to tell her the truth. If we want to be together we have to tell everyone first, like it or not. It’s the only way to avoid the mistakes of the past repeating themselves.”  
  
Eric nodded. “You’re right. You’re a lot wiser than I think people ever give you credit for.”  
  
Donna smiled. “Everyone sees me as this dumb, blonde, blowup doll or something but you never did.”  
  
“No. I see you as the lovely, beautiful, passionate and amazing woman that you are.” He leaned over and kissed her again. Her hands cupped his cheeks and then they mutually stepped away from each other.  
  
“It’s getting heated; you’d better go,” Donna said with a smile.  
  
“Very heated,” Eric agreed. He squeezed her hand and kissed the back of her wrist. He then moved for the door. “I’ll be back, Donna Logan. I promise you that.”  
  
Donna nodded. “I can’t wait, Eric Forrester.”


	8. Freak out

** 8 - Freak out **   
  
Eric returned that evening as Donna was fixing a special supper for the two of them. She immediately welcomed him into the house with a kiss which he returned full-force.   
  
“Did she freak out?” Donna asked when they had come up for air. She kept her hands on his shoulders, giving them a light massage.   
  
“You could say that,” Eric replied. “As per the usual, Stephanie vowed to take the company from me and make our lives – yours and mine – a living hell.”   
  
“Oh Stephanie, you’re getting predictable in your old age,” Donna mused with a little smile. She sobered then. “But in all fairness, I didn’t want to hurt her. I honestly didn’t, even given our bitter history.”   
  
“I didn’t want to hurt her either but tell me how could I continue to deny myself the one thing, the one  _person_ in the whole world, who reminds me that I am still alive? That time is precious and I should spend it with the one I love above all others?”   
  
Donna’s eyes wet with fresh tears. “Do you mean that, Eric?”   
  
“Yes, with every bit of me,” Eric said and he gathered her tiny hands into his, pulling her forward to crash against his chest. He peppered her face and neck with soft kisses that soon grew in intensity as he found her lips once again. His tongue sluiced into her waiting mouth and she sagged against him. Kissing Eric… There was nothing she loved more. Except making love to Eric…   
  
His eyes were dark and smoky. Was he thinking about making love to her? Did they dare go back to bed so soon, before they had adequately addressed all the hurts of the past?   
  
Oh screw that! She wanted him now. She had waited ages to be with him again and she didn’t want to wait another second to be in his arms once more. Her fingers moved to the buttons on his dress shirt. She tugged it out of the waistband of his pants and he smiled at her. “I want to be with you, Donna,” he said. “In every way that a man and woman in love can be.”   
  
“I want that too, Eric,” she said and kissed him flush on the lips. He growled into the kiss and their tongues entangled for a long moment. Then Donna was ripping impatiently at his shirt.   
  
“I need you,” Donna said. “Right now.”   
  
Eric nodded as his tattered shirt hit the soft carpeting. She ran her hands all over his manly chest, relishing how familiar he was to her touch. Still, she looked forward to exploring his body again - inch by sensual inch.   
  
Donna went for the buckle on his pants and loosed it as quickly as she could. She tugged his trousers down and they puddled at his ankles. Then he was kicking off his Italian loafers. They landed somewhere in the vicinity of the coffee table. He grabbed for her then, yanking her dress up over her head. His eyes were stormy as he feasted his eyes on her voluptuous breasts which were spilling out of her black bra.   
  
Just as he had unclasped her bra, they heard the keening cry of the fire alarm. “What the -?” Donna asked, for a moment incredibly confused as she was lost in a haze of lust.   
  
“We’re setting off alarms now, Donna,” Eric mused. “I’d say we’ve still got it.”   
  
Donna laughed and tapped his chin. “So true, but I do smell smoke now too.” She rushed into the kitchen. The room was filled with smoke and grime. “Dammit,” she said as she ran to open the window. She turned off the oven then and putting on a mitt, yanked the stove door open. Black smoke curled up in her face. She coughed violently.   
  
“Donna, are you alright?” Eric asked. He was behind her, looking concerned and even frantic, in his boxer shorts. She broke into peals of laughter. “What’s so funny?” He asked, his lips twitching.   
  
“You are… Well, you’re just… you,” Donna said. “I love you.”   
  
“I love you too,” Eric said and kissed her, causing a mewl to rise up in her throat. “I am sorry I wasted so much time being stubborn,” he added.   
  
“And I’m sorry I hurt you.”   
  
“All is forgiven,” Eric said. He leaned over to look at the charcoaled concoction she removed and dropped with a thud on the stovetop. “What was that?”   
  
“Pot roast, your favorite. I thought you’d be hungry…”   
  
“Oh I am, but not for pot roast,” he said with a lascivious grin.   
  
“I’ll get the honey,” Donna said. She rushed for the cabinet and pulled out a full bottle of sweet honey. She had always secretly hoped that she would get to use it again, though after her breakup with Eric, she couldn’t bear to touch the stuff. Now her desire for it was flooding back, just as she wanted him.   
  
He smiled and swung her up into his arms. “Eric,” she laughed, “you’ll break your back.”   
  
“Don’t insult me, Donna, I like to think I’m as spry as I ever was,” he said with a teasing smile. He kissed her and then carried towards her bedroom where they would hole up for hours to come.


	9. Dream

**9 - Dream**  
  
Donna slowly stirred as the warm light of morning began to penetrate her consciousness. She eased her head off of the pillow and looked around. Her eyes immediately locked on Eric’s. He was propped up on one of her downy pillows, wearing nothing but a handsome smile.  
  
“So it wasn’t a dream,” Donna murmured.  
  
“Oh it was very real,” Eric said. He leaned over to capture her plump lips in a soft but sexy kiss. He gestured to the bedside table where the bottle of honey stood empty. “Does that convince you that it wasn’t all just a sweet dream?”  
  
“Oh but it was sweet, very sweet,” Donna said as she climbed onto his lap. “But also sensual and amazingly wonderful too… Remind me. Have we ever used that much honey in one night?”  
  
“No. I think that’s a new record,” Eric said with a grin. He kissed the column of Donna’s throat. “Last night was truly something.”  
  
“Yes, it was,” Donna agreed. She straddled him now. “I don’t want it to end. I don’t want to have to go back to reality… Tell me you don’t regret any of this.”  
  
“I absolutely regret nothing,” Eric said and he grasped her bare bottom, using it as leverage to draw her even closer to him. He kissed her shoulders. “You’re all sticky.”  
  
Donna laughed. “So I am,” she said. She ran a hand down his torso, settling it at his left hip. “You’re all sticky too.”  
  
“I think that all of this stickiness calls for a shower, don’t you?”  
  
“Yes, as long as we’re sharing the tub.”  
  
“From now on, Ms. Logan, we will share everything together. Always.”  
  
Donna’s eyes immediately moistened with tears. “Do you really mean that, Eric?”  
  
“Yes. I want to share my life with you, Donna, every facet. I am madly in love with you and that will never change.”  
  
“I love you so much too, Eric,” Donna said as a little tear trickled down her cheek.  
  
“You’re crying…”  
  
“Yes, but they’re happy tears. I just can’t believe we’re getting another chance. That you’re willing to give us one.”  
  
“I can’t deny what I want anymore. I won’t. Not for anyone. You’re the one I want, the one I love.” He kissed her again, so deeply her breath was wrenched from her throat.  
  
“Eric… the shower,” she whispered huskily into his lips.  
  
“Can wait for a bit,” Eric said. “I am not inclined to leave this bed right now, are you?”  
  
Donna grinned. “No, no I’m not.”  
  
And with that, they began to make love anew.


	10. Watermelon

**10 - Watermelon**  
  
They coupled twice in bed and once more in the shower. Donna’s limbs felt like gelatin as she slowly dressed an hour later. Eric had pulled on his clothes from the night before and she slipped on a bright yellow sundress. It felt her mood perfectly.  
  
“You look beautiful, Donna,” Eric said as he looked at her appraisingly.  
  
“Eric-“  
  
“It’s true.”  
  
Donna smirked. “You look quite debonair yourself, Mr. Forrester.” She knotted her hair in a loose chignon atop her head and then moved over to him. She hooked her arms around his neck. “I suppose you have to go, huh?”  
  
“Do you want me to go?”  
  
“Of course not, but if you miss work-“  
  
“I can make up whatever I missed tomorrow,” Eric said. “For today, I want to be with you and only you. What do you say?”  
  
“I say … yes! Of course!” She kissed him. The kiss quickly grew in intensity but she pulled back a bit when she heard Eric’s stomach growl.  
  
She grinned. “You’re hungry.”  
  
“Not for food,” he said, trying to tug her back to him.  
  
“I beg to differ,” she said with a laugh as his tummy rumbled again. “And I’m hungry too… I’ll see what I have in the way of food left in the kitchen.”  
  
Eric sighed. “Oh alright.” He smiled at her and they walked out of the bedroom and down the hall to the kitchen. Donna’s cooking experiment from the night before still sat on the stovetop.  
  
“Tell me we’re not having that,” Eric teased.  
  
Donna chuckled. “No, no we’re not. I wanted to surprise you but-”  
  
“Oh you did, in more ways than one,” Eric said with a cheeky grin.  
  
Donna just smiled at him, yanked the trashcan out under from the sink and threw the charcoaled pot roast – pan and all – into the garbage. She rinsed her hands off and towel dried them.  
  
She moved to the refrigerator. Feeling Eric’s eyes on her backside, she gave her hips a little swivel, eliciting a growl from Eric. She just snickered as she opened the door.  
  
“Let’s see what do we have here?” Donna said, rooting around in the stainless steel cavern. “Condiments, lots of condiments. Mustard, mayo… A half-eaten cup of Greek yogurt and … Ooh, watermelon.” She pulled the small, seedless melon from the fridge. “Could you eat some of this?”  
  
“Oh yes I could.” She noted that he wasn’t looking at the watermelon.  
  
She blushed. “I’ll slice it up while you try to rein in those hormones of yours.”  
  
“I believe where I come from they would call you a ‘spoilsport’.”  
  
“And where I come from they would call you ‘insatiable’.”  
  
“That’s not a bad thing, in my estimation.”  
  
“No, it’s not. It’s actually wonderful but we can’t spend all day having sex, can we?”  
  
“Who says?”  
  
Donna just giggled and reached for one of the butcher knives. She split the watermelon in half and then they sat down to a small but tasty breakfast. Afterwards, they retired to the living room to enjoy more couple time before they decided what to do next on their spectacular day.


	11. Groceries

**11 - Groceries**  
  
Donna and Eric holed up hours in the beach house, alternately talking and kissing. Around lunchtime, Donna’s own stomach began to growl. “I need fuel,” Donna said, looking up at him from where she was sprawled in his lap.  
  
“Am I wearing you out?” Eric asked with a smile.  
  
“Absolutely! But in a very, very good way. Still, I think the watermelon wasn’t enough… What do you say we go grocery shopping together?”  
  
“I say that that sounds like a very couple-like thing to do.”  
  
“But we are a couple again … aren’t we?”  
  
“Yes.” Eric knocked a kiss to her forehead. “Which is why we should share in the duty of shopping. Besides, it could be fun.”  
  
“With you, I fully expect it to be.” Donna wriggled off his lap. “Shall we go now?”  
  
“Yes,” Eric said. “Lemme me just find my wallet.”  
  
Donna slipped her hand into his pocket. “It’s in there.”  
  
Eric growled as she moved her hand around inside his pocket. “Don’t get me started up again or we’ll never make it to the store,” he said with a smile.


	12. Shortbread

**12 – Shortbread**  
  
“Oooh they have Dansk shortbread on sale,” Donna enthused as she picked up two tins of her favorite cookies and deposited them in the cart Eric was pushing around the grocery store.  
  
“We need more honey,” Eric said. “Where can I find the honey?”  
  
“Aisle five,” Donna said. “I know this because I have visited that aisle a lot in the past.”  
  
Eric smiled at her. “I’ll go grab a bottle or two.”  
  
“Or five!” Donna called after him with a laugh. The way they went through the delicious stuff, perhaps they should take out stock in a honey company. Or start a humming bee colony, Donna mused with a grin as she took control of the cart, watching Eric saunter away.  
  
She pushed the cart down the whole foods aisle. With all the sweets they were enjoying, they needed some healthy stuff too, she reasoned. She was still grinning from ear to ear when a man sauntered over to her. He was tall and built, about her age. The kind of man she probably would have gone ga-ga for twenty years ago.  
  
“You look happy,” he observed as he reached for a bag of wild rice and placed it in a red basket emblazoned with the food market’s name on it.  
  
“Do I?” Donna said, unable to stop smiling.  
  
“Yes, you’re either in love or on Prozac. Which is it?”  
  
Donna didn’t exactly know what to make of this guy but simply said, “In love.”  
  
“Oh? So where’s the lucky guy?” He asked. “I wouldn’t leave a hot ticket like you alone for a second.”  
  
Donna’s smile faltered a bit. He was obviously hitting on her and it wasn’t exactly appreciated. She should be flattered but looking into the man’s dark blue eyes, she saw something that turned her cold.  
  
“He’s here,” Donna said. “My guy, I mean. He just went to grab something.”  
  
The man nodded. Donna quickly filled a bag with tomatoes and started down the aisle. The man surprisingly moved after her. “Look, honey, I didn’t mean to come on so strong but you’re just so beautiful. I couldn’t help myself.”  
  
“Thanks but I’m really happy with my man so…”  
  
“Donna,” Eric said, appearing halfway down the aisle, triumphantly holding up no less than five bottles of honey. “I got it.”  
  
The nameless man beside Donna chuckled. “Wait, that’s your man?”  
  
Donna bristled at his words. “Yes, that’s my guy. Now if you’ll excuse me-“  
  
“Sweetheart, you can do a lot better than Father Time. He’s an old man. You’re young and hot.”  
  
Donna had never wanted to slap someone more. Instead, she shoved the cart forward and hurried away from the lascivious stranger. She bolted over to Eric who looked at her in surprise. “You look upset, Donna. Did something happen?” He narrowed his eyes at the other man. “Was he bothering you?”  
  
“Let’s just go,” Donna said.  
  
Eric glared at the man. He dropped the bottles of honey into the cart and they left the aisle.  
  
As they were stacking their groceries on the conveyor belt a bit later, getting ready to pay, Eric grasped her arm. “Are you going to tell me what he said?”  
  
“It doesn’t matter, Eric.”  
  
“If what he said upset you, then it matters to me.”  
  
Donna sighed. “He tried hitting on me. I told him I was happy with someone and started to walk away. When he saw you though… he called you Father Time, an old man.”  
  
Eric sighed. “And that’s why you’re upset? Because he called me an old man?”  
  
“Yes!”  
  
“Donna, I am an old man compared to you.”  
  
“Eric-“  
  
“But as far as I am concerned, Donna, when I’m with you I feel like I’m twenty-five at most. You make me feel youthful – you make me feel alive and full of energy and vitality.”  
  
Donna was instantly smiling again. “Oh, Eric, you’re wonderful. I love you.” She leaned over and kissed him flush on the mouth. “Our age difference never bothered me – ever. I’m so glad you’re in my life again.”  
  
“And I’m here to stay,” Eric affirmed.


	13. Spatula

**13 – Spatula**  
  
“Where’s the spatula, Donna?” Eric called to her from the deck. “I need to flip the fish now.”  
  
Donna, who was in the kitchen tossing a salad, immediately opened a drawer and rooting around, found the instrument she was looking for. She trotted outside and handed Eric the spatula. He thanked her as he flipped the two large bass splayed lifelessly on the barbeque. They were planning to have a nice, quiet dinner and then perhaps take a stroll on the beach under the stars.  
  
Donna smiled at Eric as he deftly seasoned and re-seasoned the fish. Eric looked up to see her still standing there, watching him under her long eyelashes. He smiled at her. “Do you see something that interests you?”  
  
“Yes I do,” Donna said. “You look so handsome… Sorry it’s just hard to tear my eyes away; hard to believe that this is all really happening. If I pinch myself-“  
  
“Do it.”  
  
“What?”  
  
“Do it. It may be the only way to convince you I’m not going anywhere, that I’m not a figment of your imagination.”  
  
Donna nodded. “That’s true. It’s now or never,” she said and pinched the inside of her arm. She gave a little yelp as her acrylic nails bit into sensitive flesh. “Yowza!”  
  
“It hurts, does it?”  
  
“Yes, yes it does,” Donna said. “But not nearly as much as it would have hurt if this was really just a nice dream and I woke up alone, without you.”  
  
“What an idiot I was to push you away, Donna. I hurt you so badly.” He set the spatula down on a plate and moved over to her. He lightly put his hands on her shoulders. “I’m sorry.”  
  
“Eric, I gave you every reason in the world to divorce me.”  
  
“I was angry, yes, I was hurt too, but it’s no excuse. I should have fought for you, Donna. This whole time I denied you and denied myself happiness in the process… I only hope one day you can forgive me.”  
  
“Are you kidding?” Donna said. “I never blamed you in the first place. I think you need to forgive yourself, Eric.”  
  
“I will, under one condition.”  
  
“What’s that?”  
  
“That you forgive yourself too. That’s the only way we can move forward… Can you do that?”  
  
Donna nodded. “I can certainly try.”  
  
“Good.” Eric slipped his hand down to grasp her arm. He lightly lifted the arm she had pinched. Finding the red spot her sharp nails had left behind, he began to kiss it. Donna shivered as he suckled on the firm skin. “Eric…”  
  
“Tell me where it hurts,” he said, looking up at her with his gorgeous brown eyes.  
  
“All over,” Donna said. She grinned as he began to kiss his way up her bare arm, to her shoulder; soon finding that certain sensitive area on her collarbone. “Ohhh Eric.” She pivoted in his arms so that her backside was jutting into him. He growled and continued to nibble on her skin.  
  
They only pulled apart when they smelled smoke. They turned around to see the fish was blackened almost beyond recognition. “We did it again!” Eric said, amused.  
  
“What am I going to do with you?”  
  
“Oh I have a lot of ideas,” Eric said.


	14. Wine

**14 – Wine**  
  
They ended up having microwave-ready pancakes for dinner. The flapjacks were a little dry and bland but Donna decided as she finished off her stack and put down her plate, that it was still possibly the best meal that she’d ever had. The way Eric looked at her; the way he kept reaching for her hand across the table, playing with her fingers; the way he talked about his dreams and how she was a part of them once more… Well, how could the meal not be truly memorable – no, just perfect.  
  
Eric poured them glasses full of red wine and hand in hand, they left the house and walked down the beach in the moonlight. No words were said. None were needed.  
  
Donna took off her heels as waves crashed over her tiny feet. The water was warm and deliciously frothy like an upended bottle of champagne. She realized in that moment that she was happy. She truly was. Maybe it was time that she stopped looking over her shoulder, waiting for the other shoe to drop.  
  
She knew that she could live blissfully now, as long as Eric was always at her side. He was her most faithful companion and friend - and the greatest love that she would ever know.


	15. Fireplace

**15 – Fireplace**  
  
They came home from the beach in the wee hours. They snuggled by the fireplace, watching the flames dance in the hearth, listening to the crackle and hissing emanating from just beyond the safety gate. A fire wasn’t needed to keep them warm but it was nice to… _just be._  
  
“Penny for your thoughts,” Eric said as he began to uncurl her long hair from atop her head. He lightly ran his fingers through the thick locks. He had always loved caressing her hair and she had always loved him doing it. Eric had the gentlest hands of anyone she knew. His touch was delicate yet deliberate, which of course benefited him well in his line of work.  
  
“I was just thinking how I wish I could freeze this moment forever,” Donna said. “I just don’t want it to ever end. I know that’s not realistic but-”  
  
Eric kissed her forehead as she rested against his chest. “I wish we could too but you know, the beauty of the thing is that we’ll have a lot more moments just like this.”  
  
“You mean that, don’t you?”  
  
“With all my heart.”  
  
“It’s sad though to think that in a few hours we have to go back to the real world. The world where your kids and ex-wife hate me and belittle our relationship. The real world where people stupidly think a significant age difference means we’re all wrong for each other.”  
  
“Well we know better, Donna, don’t we? As for Stephanie and my children, they will have to learn to deal with this. I let them interfere much too much in our relationship the last time around but I can assure you, this time it will be different.”  
  
“It won’t be easy.”  
  
“Who was it that said nothing worth having comes easily?” Eric smiled as he smoothed her hair off her forehead. “I believe that philosophy… People can oppose our relationship, but at the end of the day, it’s you and I, and the way we feel about each other that matters.”  
  
“You’re right, Eric, of course you’re right,” Donna said. She reached out to stroke this stubbly cheek. “I just hate that it will be hours before I see you again. Assuming you’ll come back here tonight…”  
  
“No one could keep me away,” Eric said. “I will always come back to you.”  
  
“Oh, Eric.” She reached for his hands and kissed his palm softly. “I know this is going to sound crazy considering we just got back together but –“  
  
“But what?”  
  
“Eric, would you consider moving in with me?” Donna asked. “I know everything is moving so incredibly fast and it’s probably not a good idea to rush things but-“ She broke off when Eric pressed a finger to her lips.  
  
“Give me a chance to reply, sweetheart.” He moved his hand to the curve of her cheek. “Things are moving fast, I admit that, but the truth is that we were stubborn for such a long time, denying what we both wanted … Now I’d say that we owe it to ourselves to make up for all that time we lost. So if you’ll have me, then yes, Ms. Logan, I would like to move in with you.”  
  
Donna grinned. “Even with the hideously garish, candy apple red décor?”  
  
“Yes,” Eric said with a laugh as he looked around. “All it really needs though is some complimentary art pieces and items of fine furniture to really make it look like a home.”  
  
“It already is a home, Eric… because you’re here.”  
  
“Donna,” he said huskily and leaned over to capture her lips in a kiss. "When you say things like that … Well it makes me love you all the more,” he whispered into her hair.  
  
She snuggled deep into his embrace. “I love you too, Eric, I love you too.”


	16. Climbing

**16 – Climbing**  
  
The next morning found them climbing out of bed, scrambling around, eyes still murky with sleep. It was already 7:15 a.m. and Eric had to be at the office for a meeting at eight. He also needed to make a trip over to the Forrester mansion to grab a change of clothes. After all, he could only wear those rumbled slacks for so long. Especially since Donna noticed and pointed out that he had a smear of red paint on one of the pant legs.  
  
“Sure it’s not your lipstick?” Eric teased.  
  
“I am sure,” she said. “It’s not my color. In fact, these walls aren’t my color at all. But I guess I’ll deal. Besides, what matters is that you’ll be here tonight staring at all of this garishness with me.”  
  
“Indeed I will,” Eric said. He moved to her and cupped her face in his hands. He pulled her in for a long, slow kiss that had her legs turning to jelly. The kiss grew in heat and passion and finally she had to force herself to diffuse and disengage.  
  
She touched her puffy lips. “You have to go.”  
  
“Do I really?”  
  
“Yes. But I promise there is more of this –“ she uncinched the belt of her silk robe –“for you for later.”  
  
Eric growled as he took in the sight of her curvy, sexy, very bare skin. "You are going to give me a heart attack one of these days, you know that, Donna.”  
  
“I sincerely hope not.”  
  
She walked him to the door, kissed him goodbye very longingly and then decided she would toss some laundry into the wash while she took a warm shower.  
  
She was gathering up a blanket on the sofa less than two minutes later when there was a forceful knock at the door. She dropped the afghan and moved to the door, throwing it open. “Eric, did you forget –“ She broke off when she saw who was standing there.  
  
 _“His sanity?”_ Stephanie Forrester retorted, a dark scowl on her face.


	17. Sticks and stones

**17 - Sticks and stones**  
  
“Stephanie,” Donna said. She clearly saw the ire – no, the outright hatred – in the other woman’s cool, assessing eyes. “What are you doing here or do I even need to guess? Actually you know what, it doesn’t even matter. I don’t want to fight with you. I don’t have the time.”  
  
“Oh I bet you are so busy, Donna – gleefully busting up families and making a fool of yourself in the process.”  
  
Donna shook her head. “Stephanie, just stop it. The honest truth is that Eric and I never set out to hurt you.”  
  
“Oh of course you didn’t set out to hurt anyone,” Stephanie said facetiously. “You types never do. It’s just that you Logans can’t help but follow your ‘destiny’ - everyone else standing in the way of your libidos be damned. It’s so tragic really though that you are deluded enough to think that you and Eric are some great love story for the ages… But I have news for you, Donna. This trashy affair with Eric won’t last; it never does.”  
  
“Eric and I love each other, Stephanie. We don’t want to hurt you but you need to accept that we are going to be together whether you like it or not. For once… Have a little dignity and don’t make a scene.”  
  
Stephanie chortled as if that were the funniest thing she’d ever heard. “Dignity? A Logan preaching about having dignity is rich! It’s ingrained in your twisted DNA to be liars, cheaters and whores. Why don’t _you_ have a little dignity, Donna, and not spread your legs for every man in the city who gives you a second look?”  
  
Donna crossed her arms. “Sticks and stones, Stephanie, sticks and stones.”  
  
“Have your fun, Donna, because we both know that Eric always returns to me in the end.”  
  
Donna didn’t want to fight with Stephanie but the other woman was so damned cocky. Donna had to retort, “Not this time, Stephanie. Things are different with us. Eric and I are more committed to each other than ever.”  
  
“Oh you poor deluded little slut. You do actually believe the things Eric whispers during pillow talk, don’t you? But mark my words; he will be back with me all too soon.”  
  
Stephanie continued on. “This farce won’t last, Donna. I certainly won’t let it.”  
  
“That sounds like a threat, Stephanie.”  
  
“No, that is a promise.”  
  
“What are you going to do this time? Sic Pam on me again? Go after more of my family members?”  
  
“That’s for me to know, Donna dear, and for you to … Well you know…”  
  
Donna’s voice shook with undisguised indignation now. “I am not speaking to you anymore. Stay the hell out of my life. And get the hell off my porch!”  
  
“Fair enough, but this isn’t over.”  
  
Stephanie turned on her heel and calmly sauntered away. Donna watched to make sure she was really gone and then went back inside the beach house, slamming the door after her.  
  
“Stephanie just doesn’t quit,” Donna muttered.  
  
She hated to admit it but Stephanie had managed to ruffle her a bit. The last time Donna was with Eric she was stalked, harassed and nearly killed by Stephanie’s sister. Not to mention that Stephanie had blackmailed Donna repeatedly, even using her late brother Storm as leverage to get her way.  
  
“What is she planning this time?” Donna wondered aloud as she went back to collecting the dirty laundry.  
  
She shook her head firmly. “No, it doesn’t even matter. I believe in Eric and me. Anything that Stephanie tries to pull, we will handle it together.”


	18. Coming home

**18 – Coming Home**  
  
Donna had done four loads of laundry, scrubbed the floors until they shone, washed the windows, went shopping and prepared a four-course meal, all in the span of six hours. She had wanted to keep busy, so busy that she couldn’t think about Stephanie’s menacing threats. And she hadn't thought about them… _much._  
  
The door suddenly opened and Eric walked into the beach house. Donna broke into a smile. “You’re here!” She hurried to give him a long hug and an even longer kiss.  
  
His fingers knotted in the wavy locks of her hair. “I said I was coming home to you and I meant it.”  
  
Donna nodded. “I know, I know. I am just … Well; being in your arms again is just what the doctor ordered.”  
  
“This is exactly what I needed too,” Eric said. He titled his head towards the kitchen. “Is that dinner I smell?”  
  
“Yes, are you hungry?”  
  
“Famished.”  
  
“Good, because I’m cooking a big pot roast. I am determined to get it right this time. So no distracting me.”  
  
He held up his hands in mock-defense. “Now you know I would never do such a thing.”  
  
“Uh huh.” Donna chuckled. She moved behind him and helped him remove his jacket. As she hung it on the coat rack, she marveled over how right it looked hanging there next to her mink stole. This was actually happening; this was her new reality. Eric really was back.  
  
She hugged him fiercely and then moved towards the kitchen to check on the roast. She wouldn’t let another meal burn to a crisp. “So how was your day?”  
  
“Not as productive as I would have liked… I had quite the run-in with Stephanie.”  
  
“You too huh?”  
  
Eric followed her into the kitchen, rolling up the sleeves of his pressed black shirt. “You saw her today?”  
  
Donna nodded. “Yes. I think she was just lying in wait because about a minute after you left this morning, she showed up on our porch.”  
  
Eric shook his head. “She really is something else.”  
  
“Tell me about it. She’s like a dog with a bone really.”  
  
Donna poked the roast with a knife and some of the meat fell away. It was so moist and smelled delicious.  
  
“Let me get that,” Eric said as she bent to pick up the pan.  
  
“No worries. I can do it,” Donna insisted and using oven mitts, she set the pan on the stovetop. It needed to cool a bit. “So did Stephanie offer up any of her usual threats?”  
  
“Not this time, but she is blocking my bid to make Rick co-president of Forrester alongside Ridge. They have both contributed so much to the company but Stephanie is determined that anyone-“  
  
“With a drop of Logan DNA in them will suffer?” Donna guessed.  
  
“That seems to be her plan. She has never gone after my children before but now its open season apparently. She wants to make all of us miserable - miserable enough that I will cry uncle and run back to her. But it’s not happening. She won’t push me around ever again. I made my choice… You are my choice, Donna - always.”  
  
“Oh, Eric,” Donna said with a smile. “You say the sweetest things.”  
  
“It’s true.”  
  
“I know.” She slid her arms around his neck and they kissed. Eric backed Donna up against the sink and her hands went to his silk tie. She began to unknot it.  
  
To her surprise, he suddenly stilled her hand. “What is it, Eric?”  
  
“I just realized that you never told me what Stephanie said to you.”  
  
Donna waved her hand dismissively. She really didn’t want to dwell on this, especially now. “Oh you know, just the usual stuff. That I’m a whore, a slut, an easy lay...”  
  
“I’m so sorry. I told her to leave you alone.”  
  
“It doesn’t matter,” Donna said. “She can’t bully us anymore. We’re here to stay.”  
  
“Yes we are,” Eric said. “Oh, Donna?”  
  
“Yes, Eric?”  
  
“You can remove my tie now,” he said with a little wink. “And I’ll remove this,” he said, reaching for the hem of her saucy little red dress.


	19. Sweat

**19 – Sweat**  
  
When Donna woke up the next morning, she noticed that Eric’s side of the bed was empty. She cocked her head towards the bathroom, listening for the sound of the shower. She heard nothing. “Hmm,” she murmured.  
  
She climbed out of bed and yanked on her red silk robe. The filmy fabric flirted with her knees as she moved down the hall calling Eric’s name. She looked all throughout the beach house for him but he was nowhere to be found.  
  
She was about to call him on his cell when she noticed that his phone was sitting on the television console. “Eric, where are you?” She wondered aloud. A thousand possibilities went through her mind and just as she started to panic, the door opened.  
  
“Eric!” Donna cried happily. She took a good look at him then. He had on baggy running shorts, a tennis shirt and an empty bottle of water was in his hand. “You’ve been exercising.”  
  
He nodded. He soundless a tad breathless as he moved towards her and offered her a kiss. She laughed as his damp shirt brushed her palms. “You’re all sweaty.”  
  
“I know,” Eric said. “I need a shower desperately.”  
  
“How long were you out there?”  
  
“About an hour,” Eric said. “I really need to get in shape.”  
  
“Oh please, you’re in great shape.”  
  
“Donna, I’m almost seventy. I may feel twenty years old when I’m with you but in reality, I am a lot older than you are. I want to be able to keep up with you.”  
  
“You do that very well, Mister. In fact, you match me step for step.”  
  
Eric smiled indulgently. “The better I take care of myself now, the better quality of life I’ll have in my later years. Donna, I’m under no illusion that when you’re fifty and I’m pushing eighty-“  
  
“Eric, you don’t seriously think that I’d leave you – ever? We’re in it for the long haul, remember?” She crossed her arms, watching him closely. “There’s more going on here than you’re letting on. Talk to me.”  
  
He sighed. “I got a good, long look at myself in the mirror this morning. Donna, I almost didn’t recognize myself… I look so much older than you do.”  
  
“So what?” Donna said. She moved to wrap her arms around his waist. “I still think you’re the most wonderfully handsome man I’ve ever known.”  
  
“Our age difference has never bothered me before but –“  
  
“But now it does?” Donna asked. “Does it bother you enough that you want to-“  
  
“To end things? Never, Donna. I promise you that. I just want to be the man you can depend on – not the man you have to take care of.”  
  
“Okay… But well, maybe we could work out together.”  
  
“I like the sound of that,” he said as he nipped her bottom lip.  
  
She laughed and pulled back. “That’s not what I meant. I meant, maybe we be workout buddies. We could run together, play tennis, even golf. I know how much you like that. And I could start making healthier meals. I mean we love our red meat with all of the fixings but there’s no reason we can’t eat lean, baked chicken instead.”  
  
“That’s a fine idea,” Eric said. “But about the honey – I have no intention of giving that up.”  
  
Donna shook her head. “Neither do I.” She fluttered her eyelashes at him. “We’ll just have to burn a lot of calories to compensate for our voracious appetite for it.”  
  
“Well you know what? I happen to know of a great way to burn calories,” Eric said lasciviously.  
  
They broke into peals of laughter.


	20. Surprise

**20 – Surprise**  
  
The next afternoon, Donna found herself alone at the beach house. Eric was at work, so busy that he had been unable to take a lunch break, as he had told her when they talked briefly on the phone at noon. She figured that he must be starved so she decided to whip up a meal and bring it to him at Forrester as a surprise.  
  
She showed up at Forrester within the next hour, a little picnic basket packed with as many healthy foods as she could find around the house.  
  
She sighed with relief as she walked into the building and noticed that guard dog-Pam was not at her desk. One less confrontation to be had.  
  
Donna smiled and knocked on Eric’s door.  
  
“Come in,” he called.  
  
She poked her head in the room. “Got a minute for me?” She asked with a grin.  
  
Eric broke into a smile. “For you, I’ve got five.”  
  
“Great,” Donna said. She walked into the office and shut the door after her. Eric rose from his desk where he had apparently been going over shipping records. He moved to greet her with a warm, soft kiss.  
  
“To what do I owe this welcome distraction?” He asked, as his hands came to settle on her trim hips.  
  
“I figured you must be famished so I brought you lunch.” She proudly held up the basket. “It’s all pretty low-calorie, I promise.  
  
Eric kissed her again. “Thank you. Seeing you and getting a meal out of the deal is just what the doctor ordered.”  
  
“Long day huh?”  
  
Eric nodded. “Yes. And I’m afraid it will only get longer.”  
  
“Stephanie?”  
  
“Yes, Stephanie. Brooke wants to bring back the bedroom line and I think it’s a splendid idea. Naturally, Stephanie does not. We’ll have to take a vote and see if along with my children, we have enough shares to override anything Stephanie attempts to veto.”  
  
“She’s out for blood,” Donna said. She shook her head and palmed his cheek. “I’m sorry.”  
  
“I’ll cope. I just hate that she’s going after all of you because she wants to punish me.”  
  
“Dare I ask how Pam is taking the news of us being back together?”  
  
“Not so well. She says she has learned to tolerate you but follows me around constantly sounding like a broken record, saying ‘Donna is all wrong for you’.”  
  
Donna sighed. “Well that’s better than I expected. I hope she keeps her killer lemon bars to herself this time.”  
  
“I have warned her that if she pulls any stunts like she did last time, I’m going straight to the police.”  
  
“I wish someone could be happy for us.”  
  
“We’ve got a few rooting for us. Brooke, Rick, Bridget, Marcus… Most of my children realize how happy you make me and how miserable Stephanie did at times… I loved Stephanie, you know, but it’s been years since I was in love with her. Maybe – maybe I never was in love with her. I didn’t truly feel alive until you burst into my life, bringing all this light and color with you.”  
  
“You do say the sweetest things, Eric.” She kissed the tip of his nose. “Now I hear your stomach grumbling. Why don’t you eat something?”  
  
“That sounds good to me,” Eric said. “Thank you, Donna.”  
  
“Anytime.”  
  
He slipped into his chair and opened the basket. “Delicious,” he pronounced as he bit into a cucumber and turkey sandwich.  
  
“I’m glad you like,” Donna said, slipping behind him and pressing her hands to his shoulders. She began to massage them. She could easily feel how knotted with tension they were.  
  
“Mmm, I appreciate that,” Eric said. He finished his sandwich and started to reach for an apple in the basket when he suddenly seemed to think better of it. He instead grabbed for one of her wrists and tugged her forward, right onto his lap.  
  
Donna laughed. “I don’t think this is on the menu.”  
  
“Really? Because I’ll take a full course of you.”  
  
Donna smiled and kissed him. “I am not here to distract you from your work.”  
  
“Too late. In that dress you’re wearing, I’m already distracted.”


	21. Lipstick

**21 - Lipstick**  
  
Donna and Eric were in full-on make out mode when the door to his office suddenly burst open. They looked up to see none other than a fire-breathing Felicia standing there.  
  
“So it’s true,” Felicia said. “You are back with this blonde blow up doll.”  
  
Eric shook his head. “Felicia, don’t start that. Apologize to Donna right now!”  
  
“Never,” Felicia said. “I will never accept you and her together.”  
  
Donna squirmed off Eric’s lap. “Felicia, I –“  
  
“I wasn’t talking to you,” Felicia said. “You don’t get a say in this. You’re just the latest cheap tart my father dear is cheating on my mother with.”  
  
Eric stood. “Felicia, stop this right now. You have no right to burst into my office and say such horrible things.”  
  
“And you have no right to keep breaking Mom’s heart but yet you keep doing it. I came all the way from San Francisco when Thorne called me with the news. I kept hoping that he was mistaken but now I see for myself that it’s true. You’ve lost your mind and taken up with this slut again.”  
  
“Felicia!” Eric snapped.  
  
Donna looked between them. “Maybe I should be going…”  
  
“Yes, do yourself a favor and just go, Donna. Have some self-respect and realize that you’re nothing but the sidepiece and a distraction until Father wises up and comes crawling back to Mother.”  
  
Donna sighed. “I am sorry you feel that way.” Donna started for the door but Eric was calling her back.  
  
“Donna, don’t go. If anyone needs to leave, it’s my daughter.”  
  
“What?” Felicia’s eyes bugged out.  
  
“Eric…” Donna said. She did not want to any more cause tension between him and his own flesh and blood.  
  
“You can’t be serious!” Felicia said. “You’re actually kicking me out of here for – for this thing?”  
  
“I am kicking you out because of the vitriol you’re spewing right now. You don’t have to like my relationship with Donna but you do not have the right to treat her this way. She’s done nothing wrong.”  
  
“Except break up a family.”  
“She did no such thing, Felicia. There was a reason I couldn’t put a ring on your mother’s finger again. I never stopped loving Donna. And I never will. In all honesty, your mother deserves better than to be with a man who longs for someone else.”  
  
“You say that now but you always go back to Mom.”  
  
“Not this time. I love Donna with all of my heart. We are going to stay together.”  
  
“That’s your libido talking, your late life crisis. Don’t you care that she’s half your age?”  
  
“I know I’m a lot older than Donna but it’s not a deal breaker.”  
  
“You really don’t care that you’re humiliating the whole family with her, do you?”  
  
“I’m not entertaining this conversation anymore, Felicia. I won’t hear it.”  
  
“Fine, Dad, I’ll leave for now, but this isn’t over.” She started for the door. “Oh and by the way, you’ve got supermarket brand lipstick on your collar.”  
  
The door slammed closed after Felicia. Eric moved over to Donna. “I’m sorry you had to hear all of that.”  
  
Donna sighed. “I should be used to it by now.”  
  
“No one ever gets used to being degraded and belittled. I’m truly sorry that you had to endure that.”  
  
“I’m fine but I hate being the source of contention between you and your kids.”  
  
“Donna,” Eric said, reaching for her, “they don’t have to accept us being together but they do have to respect you as a person. And they need to realize that with you, I’m happier than I’ve ever been.”  
  
“You mean that, don’t you?”  
  
“With all of my heart,” Eric said. He pulled her into a hug. “They are all adults now. They don’t have to act like petulant children over this. No matter what, I won’t let my children _nor_ Stephanie dictate my happiness. Never again.”


	22. Eating Out

**22 - Eating out**  
  
It was late afternoon on the following day when the phone suddenly rang. Donna, who had been dusting, immediately set down the feather duster and picked up the phone.  
  
 _“Hello?”_  
  
“Hello, Donna, it’s Eric,” a familiar, husky voice greeted her ears.  
  
“Eric! It’s so good to hear from you.”  
  
“Likewise. How are you doing, honey?”  
  
“Pretty good. I admit I am still a little shell-shocked from –“  
  
“Yesterday’s run-in with my daughter?” Eric guessed.  
  
Donna sighed. “Yes. I know she and Stephanie aren’t going to let this go.”  
  
“Well, Donna, I assure you that there is nothing they can do that would separate me from you now.”  
  
“I know that, but – well, isn’t there a part of you that resents me for causing problems between you and your children?”  
  
“Absolutely not. I don’t blame you for any of this. I don’t like being at odds with any of my children but this is how I see it: I’ve tried my best over the years to accept them, to love them, to encourage them - even when I didn’t agree with their choices, so I don’t think it’s too much to ask for them to try to reciprocate.”  
  
“What if they never do reciprocate?”  
  
“I won’t give up.”  
  
“You’re determined.”  
  
“Yes, I am… Now there is a reason I was calling.”  
  
“And here I thought it was because you missed me.”  
  
“Oh I do, more than you can possibly know. I’d like to take you out tonight, Donna. We can dance all of our cares away. Let’s eat at Mannequins, what do you say?”  
  
“I say yes, of course, but I just figured that you would be working late again tonight.”  
  
“Hey, a man has to eat sometime.”  
  
“And if we can’t find a single healthy meal option on the menu?”  
  
“Then we splurge… just this one time.”  
  
“Alright then. Of course I accept.”  
  
“Wonderful. I’ll be leaving the office within the hour. Do you want to meet at the restaurant or should I come get you?”  
  
“We can meet. I don’t want you to have to battle the five o-clock traffic on the PCH.”  
  
“Thank you… Oh, Donna, I need to ask you something important while we’re out.”  
  
Donna felt her stomach flutter. “Can you just ask me now?”  
  
“No, I cannot. It’s a surprise. See you in an hour?”  
  
“I’ll be there…”  
  
“Oh and Donna?”  
  
“Yes?”  
  
“Wear something sexy,” he said with a laugh.  
  
“That goes without saying. I love you, Eric.”  
  
“I love you too. See you soon.”  
  
“Bye.”  
  
They disconnected then. Donna set down the phone. Her heart was doing wild flip-flops in her chest. Eric had said that he had something important to ask her. Was it possible … _that Eric was going to propose to her?_


	23. Forget

**23 – Forget**  
  
When Donna showed up at Mannequins within the hour, she was dressed to the nines in a short blue kimono-style dress and towering stilettos, her blonde hair was swept up in a sophisticated chignon, and she wore just the right amount of makeup. She found Eric was already there, waiting for her at the bar. His brown eyes lit up when he spotted her pushing her way through the dense crowd.  
  
“Donna, my dear, you look sensational!” Eric raved, giving her a slow kiss, pressing his hands to her shoulders and looking her over. “Simply sensational.”  
  
“Thank you, Honey.” She smiled and flicked the sleeve of his suit jacket. “You clean up nicely yourself.”  
  
“Thank you. Thomas offered me the coat when he heard that I was going out tonight.”  
  
“Did he know you were going out with me?”  
  
Eric nodded. “Yes he did. He’s making an effort to be supportive. Besides, he can hardly cast aspersions when he’s dating his former stepsister, your niece, Hope.”  
  
“Oh and how is Stephanie taking this?”  
  
“Not very well, honestly, but Thomas has a mind of his own and is not one to bullied.” Eric smiled. “Now enough about Stephanie, let’s go to our table. We’ve got the one in the corner.”  
  
“Hmmm, it’s pretty secluded over there.”  
  
Eric grinned. “Just the way I prefer it. We won’t be bothered.”  
  
Donna’s heart started hammering in her chest again the moment Eric helped her into her chair. When was he going to ask her that important question? How should she react if he proposed? She knew she wanted to marry him again; that’s all that really mattered.  
  
Donna looked at the menu. “Just as I suspected. Not a health conscious item on the menu.”  
  
“We’ll splurge like we talked about. I’ll have the calamari.”  
  
“I think I’ll have the same,” Donna said.  
  
Their waiter, a short, scruffy man of about twenty-five years of age, came to take their order. When he had finished scribbling down their requests, he collected their menus and said he would return shortly with their drinks.  
  
Eric reached across the table and took her hands in his. “Did I tell you yet how beautiful you look tonight?”  
  
“You said something along those lines,” Donna said with a smile. “And thank you…again.”  
  
“You’re welcome … again. I’m the envy of every guy in this place.”  
  
“And I’m the envy of every woman.”  
  
“Hardly.”  
  
“Oh yes I am! You’re Eric Forrester – strong, debonair, handsome and worldly.”  
  
“You flatter me.”  
  
“Don’t pretend you don’t enjoy it,” Donna teased. She couldn’t resist slipping off her heels and rubbing her bare feet against Eric’s ankles. He stiffened, grinning.  
  
“You’re being naughty,” Eric said.  
  
“Should I stop?” Donna asked.  
  
“Don’t you dare,” Eric growled.  
  
Donna giggled as she worked her toes along his calves. “So, how was work today?”  
  
“Long,” Eric said. “The usual dramas cropped up but in the midst of all of the chaos, your sister had an amazingly brilliant idea.”  
  
“Brooke? Wow, what’s her idea?”  
  
“That’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about.”  
  
Donna’s heart was thudding so loudly that she thought everyone in the restaurant could hear it. _This was the moment of truth._  
  
“We combined our shares to overrule Stephanie’s veto of the bedroom line.”  
  
“Okay…”  
  
“We’re bringing back the bedroom line, and Donna, we want you to be our signature model!”  
  
Donna’s heart sunk. She felt her face betraying her. “That’s what you wanted to ask me? To model for you?”  
  
“Yes. You wouldn’t like that? You’ve modeled for us before...”  
  
“I would like it, I just thought-“  
  
“What?”  
  
Her eyes filled with embarrassed tears. “Never mind. Forget I said anything.”  
  
“No, Donna, I can’t forget it. You look upset. You thought I was going to ask you to-“ he paused for a moment – “oh. Oh, Donna, you thought I was going to propose marriage, didn’t you?”  
  
“How stupid of me, right? I shouldn’t have assumed that you’d want to marry me again after everything. Besides its only been a week since we got back together and –“ A shameful tear rolled down her cheek. “I’m so presumptuous. I am sorry.”  
  
“Don’t you ever apologize to me again, Donna Logan. Especially because you are not wrong about me wanting to marry you again.”  
  
She blinked. “I’m not?”  
  
“No, but I wouldn’t propose here – in a loud restaurant surrounded by all of these people. I’d want the moment to be just right so that you couldn’t help but say ‘yes’ to me. When it happens, I want the moment to completely knock your socks off.”  
  
“It will because it will be you asking me,” Donna said. She went to dash at her tears but Eric was already reaching out and brushing soft fingers across her cheeks.  
  
“Don’t you worry. It’s going to happen, just not tonight, not here of all places.”  
  
“Alright.” She sniffled. “So… about the modeling job. Am I truly the one you want for it?”  
  
“Yes. You’re the sexiest woman I know.”  
  
“And you wouldn’t mind me parading around in lingerie in front of a camera or on a catwalk for other men to see?”  
  
“I trust you. As long as you come home to me…”  
  
“I’ll always come home to you, Eric. Always.” She noticed his relieved smile. “As for the job, what does it pay?” She teased.  
  
“You will receive all the kisses you can stand from me … and a lot of money too.”  
  
Donna grinned. “You had me at kisses.”


	24. Power

**24 – Power**  
  
Donna and Eric spent the rest of the evening alternately eating, talking and dancing. When they finally made it home, it was after 1 a.m. They tumbled right into bed and Donna fell asleep on Eric’s strong chest, his heartbeat thrumming in her ear.  
  
Morning came all too soon and Donna knew that she would be going to Forrester with Eric today, to face the proverbial firing squad. Eric planned to announce that he wanted Donna to be the bedroom line’s new signature model. Donna knew that a few would be supportive but the rest there would throw a fit. From what Donna understood, Felicia was still in town and ready to draw blood, along with her always vicious mother.  
  
Donna rolled out of bed at six a.m. and went to take a shower, trying to mentally prepare herself for the day ahead. It would be a trial, no doubt  
  
She had just reached for the soap when the shower door opened. Eric stood there in his full glory. She smiled as he shut the door and wordlessly reached for the soap in her hand. He began to lather up a washcloth and moved it over her warm skin.  
  
“Mmm,” Donna said. “That feels nice.” Eric stepped behind her and went for the shampoo bottle next. He poured some of the peach-scented liquid into his hand and began to wash her hair. Her heart was racing. Eric was the gentlest, most thoughtful lover she’d ever had. He made her felt so incredibly special.  
  
When he had finished soaping up her long hair, he nudged her underneath the warm spray and began helping her to rinse off. “Hmm, to what do I owe this nice treatment?” Donna asked when she was all clean. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and held on tight.  
  
“Do I need a reason to show my beautiful lady some love?”  
  
“No,” Donna said. “Not at all.”  
  
“I admit though that I did have an ulterior motive.”  
  
“Let’s hear it then.”  
  
“I could tell you were stressed about today. I wanted to help.”  
  
Donna sighed with relief. “That was your motive huh? You’re so good to me, Eric Forrester. I am stressed. Stephanie and Felicia and the others who hate that we’re together are going to use their power today to try to block me from being the bedroom line’s new model.”  
  
“Considering that we will be pooling all of the shares of people who do approve of us, who are happy to see us happy, we’ll do just fine. I promise you that. So keep a stiff upper lip and know that I will be at your side the whole time, fighting for you… The truth is that I should have fought for you all along, instead of letting you go, instead of pushing you out…”  
  
“That’s in the past, Eric.”  
  
“I hurt you, Donna.”  
  
“We hurt each other but we agreed to put that in the past, stop feeling guilty and move on.”  
  
“Of course you’re right. I just wanted you to know that I won’t make the same mistakes again. I am here to stay, whether you like it or not.”  
  
“Oh I like it, I like it a lot,” Donna said and gave him a long, slow kiss.


	25. Thrilled

**25 – Thrilled**  
  
Eric called a meeting of the shareholders first thing upon arriving at Forrester. Donna was already sitting at the table when everyone entered Eric’s office. She received cursory looks from everyone. Some of the looks were undoubtedly hostile in nature too.  
  
Stephanie and Felicia came in last. Stephanie sniffed. “Eric, is it bring your mistress to work day already?”  
  
Donna blanched but remained firmly sitting in the chair beside Eric. Eric glared at Stephanie. “I’ll have none of that today, Stephanie. This meeting is not about slinging petty insults and empty accusations. It’s about taking our company, our legacy, into the future.”  
  
Stephanie and Felicia rolled their eyes and took up their places at the huge table. “Now our first order of business is to discuss the bedroom line.”  
  
“Oh yes, the tawdry, tacky bedroom line only a Logan could have conceived,” Stephanie said. She received a glare from Brooke.  
  
“Enough,” Eric said. “The bedroom line is coming back, as was decided yesterday by a vote. Today I will announce the name of our new signature model who will take the line forward, to new, great heights.”  
  
“Well don’t keep us in suspense, Father,” Felicia said. “Who’s the tart? Or will Brooke be taking up the job of embarrassing us all again?”  
  
Brooke shook her head. “Pettiness, Felicia, is so unbecoming in a woman. It’s no wonder that you don’t have a man in your life.”  
  
Felicia’s face filled with color but she fell into silence – for the moment. Donna shifted uncomfortably on her chair. This was the moment where everything possibly exploded. No, it was guaranteed to explode. Would anyone be left standing at the end of this?  
  
Eric looked at Donna. “I have selected Donna to be our bedroom line’s new signature model.”  
  
A charged silence fell over the room and then pandemonium erupted. Stephanie was hollering bloody murder the likes of which even Donna had never seen. She looked ready to climb across the table and tear Donna’s eyes out. Bickering broke out all around the room as Donna just sat there awkwardly.  
  
Eric pounded his hand three times on the Oakwood table. “We will come to order this minute! We will now take a vote to officially decide if Donna is a part of the line or not.”  
  
“The only way I want her to be a part of the line is if it’s wrapped around her neck,” Stephanie bellowed.  
  
“Stephanie, we will vote and that’s that,” Eric returned in as calm of a voice as he could manage.  
  
Ridge straightened in his chair and shook his head. “Father, you can’t be serious about this – letting Donna of all people represent us.”  
  
“What’s wrong with Donna representing us?” Brooke asked her fiancée pointedly.  
  
“Well, she doesn’t have the experience,” Ridge said lamely.  
  
“I beg to differ, son,” Eric said. “She modeled for us before remember?”  
  
“Oh yes, I remember that show,” Stephanie said. “We took a hard hit from that shameless debacle.”  
  
“Stephanie, on the contrary, our numbers actually soared from that ‘shameless debacle’,” Rick said. “I think my aunt is the perfect woman for the job. I’m voting in favor of Donna.”  
  
“One vote for Donna… We’ll now go around the table and have everyone vote,” Eric said. “Stephanie? As if I can’t guess your answer.”  
  
“Donna Logan will represent this company in any way over my dead body.”  
  
“That’s a ‘nay’ if I ever heard one,” Rick said, rolling his eyes at his once-stepmother.  
  
“Felicia?” Eric asked.  
  
“I stand with mother on this. Nay.”  
  
“Steffy?” Eric said.  
  
“Nay.”  
  
Donna was getting really nervous. It seemed like this wouldn’t happen after all. She felt oddly disappointed. She had wanted this job more than she realized.  
  
“Brooke?”Eric prompted.  
  
“Yay. I am absolutely in favor of Donna doing this.”  
  
“Of course you are, Brooke,” Steffy said. Brooke ignored her.  
  
“Thomas?” Eric addressed his grandson. “Are you in favor or against this motion?”  
  
Thomas looked at his sister and shrugged. “I am in favor.” He must have a lot of love for Hope to side with a Logan over his own family, Donna quietly mused.  
  
Stephanie looked betrayed, as did Steffy. Fortunately they said nothing this time.  
  
“Thorne?” Eric said.  
  
“Nay, emphatically nay.”  
  
“I am of course in favor of Donna working for us,” Eric said.  
  
“We had no doubt about that,” Felicia said. “Undoubtedly this was your idea.”  
  
Eric looked at Bridget. “Bridget?”  
  
“Yay.”  
  
Stephanie’s face once again contorted in rage. “We have one more vote. Ridge, you will pick nay, of course.”  
  
Ridge looked between his mother and Brooke. Both were poised on the edges of their seats in anticipation of his response. “Ridge,” Eric prompted, “how will you vote?”  
  
“Donna … Like it or not, I guess she will be an asset to this company. So … yay.”  
  
“Ridge!” Stephanie hollered. “Have you been drinking the Logan-punch for so long that you would do this? Or are you just that whipped?”  
  
“Mother,” Ridge said.  
  
Felicia looked at her brother and nephew. “You two disgust me! How could you do this to your mom, Ridge? Thomas, to your grandmother?”  
  
Neither Ridge nor Thomas answered. Brooke stood and smiled. “Well, the votes have been cast. Donna is the new face of the bedroom line! I couldn’t be more thrilled.”  
  
Stephanie and Felicia, Thorne and Steffy looked defeated as happy cheers rippled throughout the room from most of the others present. The sad truth was that while Donna knew that Stephanie and company were down for now, they weren’t out of the game completely. Whatever punishment they dreamt up for Donna and Eric next would certainly not be pretty.  
  
That dark thought tempered some of her joy but certainly not all of it. She got out of her chair and embraced Eric. This all felt so surreal.


	26. Stare

**26 - Stare**  
  
Two weeks had zipped right by. Donna was in her element at Forrester. Sure, she had to deal with snippy comments from some certain Forrester and Douglas women, but she endured because Eric was her love and her protector.  
  
So far, the other shoe that she had been expecting to drop, had not. _Maybe they were in the clear after all._  
  
On this day, Eric called her up to his office. “What’s up, Eric?” She asked when she entered the room to find him looking seriously at a sketch pad.  
  
“Tell me what you think of this design for the bedroom line – and be honest,” he said. She moved to stand beside him, discreetly slipping an arm around his waist and leaning against him.  
  
Eric tapped the pencil against his lips. “Well how does this look to you?” It was a sketch of a chemise that flirted with the shapely knees of the sketched model. The collar was low and scooped, revealing just the right amount of cleavage.  
  
“It’s pretty, Eric, really pretty,” Donna enthused. She noticed his serious expression. “You don’t like it?”  
  
“It’s not that, per se. I just feel it’s missing something – a little ‘oomph’ as they say. What do you think it needs?  
  
“Don’t ask me, you’re the brilliant designer, not me.”  
  
“Well you’re going to wear it so I want it to be just perfect.”  
  
Donna smiled and traced the outline of the chemise with a precise finger. She looked at it as critically as she could, cocking her head right and left. “All I can think of is maybe adding a hint of lace at the bottom.”  
  
Eric turned to stare at Donna. “Is that a bad idea?” She asked.  
  
“No, it’s actually perfect, just perfect.” Eric set the sketch pad on the desk and quickly shaded in a bit of lace trim on the skirt’s hem. “Ta-dah.” He showed it to her now. “What do you think of the design now?”  
  
“I think it looks dynamite,” Donna said. “I will be only too thrilled to wear it. I’ll feel like the sexiest woman alive.”  
  
Eric pressed a quick kiss to her lips. “You already are the sexiest woman alive,” he said in a husky voice. She flushed with pleasure.


	27. Anywhere

**27 - Anywhere**  
  
Another two weeks had passed. Forrester was bustling with activity and just that morning Donna had overheard a gossipy Pam raving to one of her fellow receptionists that the patterns were being put together for the bedroom line as they spoke.  
  
That evening, Donna walked into Eric’s office to find him knee-deep in fabrics of all kinds. He looked tired and had a harried expression on his handsome face.  
  
“Still burning the midnight oil, I see,” she said, slipping behind him and giving his shoulders a deep, thorough massage.  
  
“Mmm, yes,” Eric said, leaning back into her touch. “I’ve been looking at these silks so long that my eyes have completely crossed.” He rubbed his forehead as if he had an intense headache.  
  
“Okay, you know what you need?”  
  
“A clone that can do all of this busywork for me?”  
  
Donna chuckled. “Well that too but I had something else in mind.” She dropped her face into the crook of his neck and kissed the column of his throat. “You need a break from the office. You need to cut loose and have some fun.”  
  
“I wish I could but this stuff won’t get done on its own. We have our first showing in less than a month.”  
  
“That’s true but you can’t function at optimum level if you’re bone-tired, Eric. No one can. So I’m taking you out tonight to have some fun and then you’re going home and going right to sleep after a long, luxurious massage from me.”  
  
“You’re tempting me here.”  
  
Donna grinned. “Come on. Give into the temptation.”  
  
“Aren’t you just the little devilress on my shoulder?”  
  
“And proud of it,” Donna joked.  
  
“And where would we go?”  
  
“Leave it to me to figure that out,” she said. “You just come along for the ride.”  
  
Eric nodded. “You know I can’t say ‘no’ to you.”  
  
“Good,” Donna said. She reached for his hand. “Now follow me.”  
  
“I would follow you anywhere, Donna.”


	28. Queue

**28 - Queue**  
  
“The drive-in?” Eric said as Donna pulled her Lexus up in front of the Sunset Blvd. Movie Theatre.  
  
“Disappointed?” Donna asked as they got into the queue to pay for their tickets.  
  
“No,” Eric said. “I said I’d go anywhere with you and I meant it.”  
  
Donna smiled. “Well, I thought we could curl up in the backseat with a blanket, eat some stale popcorn….”  
  
Eric smirked. “I like the idea of the backseat.”  
  
“I thought you might.”  
  
Donna pulled the Lexus forward and reached into her purse to grab her wallet.  
  
Eric stilled her hand. “I’ll pay.”  
  
“No, no you won’t, Eric. You do way too much for me already. Besides, it was my idea. And honestly thanks to you and your company, I have the money to spare.”  
  
Eric shrugged. “If you’re sure.”  
  
“I’m sure.” Donna opened her wallet and rolled down the window. She handed the pimply-faced young man in the booth a twenty-dollar bill and then pulled forward. The lot was filling up fast but she managed to find an empty space towards the middle.  
  
“I’ll go get the Popcorn,” Donna said once she had killed the engine.  
  
“I suppose if I offer to pay for that-“  
  
“I’ll turn you down, yep. You just get the blanket out of the trunk and warm up the backseat for me.”  
  
Eric laughed. “You can count on that backseat getting very warm but I can’t do it alone.”  
  
Donna giggled. “You naughty man, you. I’ll be right back.” She took off towards the refreshment counter. Donna ordered a medium-sized tub of popcorn with very light butter and also a box of Junior Mints to share.  
  
She was heading back to the car when she suddenly spotted a familiar figure up ahead. Felicia was here.  
  
 _Shit._  
  
Donna immediately ducked behind a Volvo, not wanting to endure another confrontation tonight.  
  
From her vantage point, she saw a curvy woman with coppery brown hair approach Felicia. Felicia greeted the woman with a bright grin and then pulled her into a passionate kiss.  
  
Donna dropped the tub of popcorn in surprise. Of all the things she had expected to see tonight, that certainly wasn’t it.  
  
The wind carried the now-empty popcorn tub forward. Donna swore under her breath as it smacked Felicia’s right ankle. Felicia came up for air and looked around. Donna tried to slink away but she knew that she had been caught.  
  
 _“Donna?”_ Felicia said. Her face was bright red. “What are you doing here?”  
  
Donna shrugged. “Same as you, I think. Coming to see a movie.”  
  
Felicia gritted her teeth. She looked between Donna and her “friend”. “Is my dad with you?”  
  
“Yes,” Donna said.  
  
“How much did you see?”  
  
Donna shrugged. “I saw –“  
  
“You saw me kissing her, didn’t you?” Felicia accused in a high voice. The woman beside her just rolled her eyes and dropped Felicia’s hand.  
  
Donna nodded. “Yes. I didn’t realize-"  
  
“That I like women?” Felicia asked in a steely voice. “Well no one really knows and I’d like to keep it that way.”  
  
The woman with Felicia just shook her head and turned, stalking off. “Gina, Gina wait!” Felicia called to her lover, but the woman didn’t return.  
  
“Dammit!” Felicia spat. She turned to look at Donna. “Are you going to tell my Dad what you saw?”  
  
Donna shook her head. “It’s not my business.”  
  
“Yeah well, I want to tell everyone, someday, in my own time, but now is not that time… You swear you won’t say anything?” Felicia pressed.  
  
“I swear but…”  
  
“But what?”  
  
“But I think that you shouldn’t have to pretend to be something or someone you’re not with your own family. I truly believe Eric will be okay with this.”  
  
Felicia shook her head. “It’s not my Dad I’m worried about.” She sighed. “Look, I’m getting out of here. Forget you saw me.” Then Felicia turned on her heel and raced away just as Eric materialized through the crowd.  
  
“Donna?” He asked. “You’ve been gone a while. Are you okay?”  
  
“Hey, Eric, I’m fine,” she said. “I just dropped the popcorn, silly me.”  
  
“You look shaken,” Eric said.  
  
“I’m fine. I’m just so clumsy,” Donna said. “C’mon let’s get a new tub before the movie starts.”  
  
Donna paused a moment to look at the spot on the sidewalk where Felicia had previously stood. She shook her head, thinking how difficult it must be to have to hide who you really were for another’s benefit.


	29. Haunted

**29 – Haunted**  
  
“Donna, we need to talk,” Felicia said, walking into Donna’s dressing room the following morning.  
  
Donna sighed and looked at the seamstress who was fitting her for a bustier top. “Helene, can you give us a moment please?” Donna asked.  
  
Helene nodded and slipped out the door, shutting it behind her. Donna turned to look at Felicia, noting the anxious expression on her attractive face. “I didn’t tell Eric. I didn’t tell anyone. _I won’t,”_ Donna said.  
  
“Good. Let’s keep this between us because as much as my family claims to be tolerant and open-minded…Well, I am sure that doesn’t apply to me.”  
  
“Felicia, I know your father pretty well by now. He loves you so much. I know that he will support you no matter what. If you tell him the truth, then you’ll at least have one ally in your corner.”  
  
“It’s not that simple.” Felicia moved to the window, looking out over the bustling street. Donna felt bad for the other woman. She seemed to be trapped in her own skin. As cruel and hateful as Felicia had been to her, Donna still wouldn’t wish this kind of anguish on her former stepdaughter.  
  
Felicia turned back to face Donna, her expression one of defeat. “Gina won't speak to me. She says she’s not willing to go back to hiding in the closet – not even for me. She faced her own father’s wrath so many times; why can’t I face my own fears?”  
  
“I’m sorry you’re going through all of this, really I am.”  
  
“You know, I almost believe you,” Felicia said. She shrugged. “Why am I telling you of all people this stuff though?”  
  
“You need someone to confide in, even if it’s someone you hate,” Donna said. “Deep down you have to know I won’t judge you. You’re Eric’s daughter after all.” She shifted in her director’s chair. “Can I offer you some advice – take it or leave it?”  
  
“What is it?”  
  
“I just keep thinking that if you’re so haunted about this secret you’re keeping, maybe it’s time to unburden yourself from it. You’re clearly unhappy hiding who you really are. Maybe you should take a chance and tell your family. They love you. Maybe they will surprise you and be there for you.”  
  
Felicia didn’t say anything for a long moment. She just stared at Donna.  
  
“Maybe,” Felicia finally spoke. She moved to the door, pausing to look back at Donna for a moment. “I appreciate you keeping this to yourself.”  
  
“Of course.”  
  
Then Felicia was gone, leaving Donna to wonder if this was the beginning of some of the ice thawing between them.


	30. News

**30 - News**  
  
Donna was in the process of being fitted for another sexy costume when there was a knock at her dressing room door. She quickly pulled a terrycloth robe over herself.  
  
“Come in,” she said. The door opened. Pam stood there, looking at Donna with undisguised scorn.  
  
“Pam,” Donna said. “To what do I owe this… dubious pleasure?”  
  
Pam shook her head. Donna was expecting a nasty retort but instead, she said simply, “There’s a meeting starting right now in the boardroom. You need to be there.”  
  
“Why? What’s going on?”  
  
“I don’t know,” Pam said resentfully. She clearly hated to be left out of the loop on anything. “Felicia called the meeting together. She wants all of the Douglases and Forresters there … and you.”  
  
Donna nodded slowly. She wondered what this could be about. She was almost afraid to find out. “I’ll be right there. I just need to get dressed.”  
  
“Why bother? The world has seen you a lot more naked than that,” Pam said with a shake of her head.  
  
Donna rolled her eyes. “Well, just the same, I think I should have more clothes on at a board meeting.”  
  
Pam rolled her eyes, muttering something unintelligible. “Suit yourself,” she finally said and left the room, as did Helene.  
  
Donna immediately got dressed in a sleek black pantsuit. She then hurried to the boardroom, feeling butterflies – or was it angry buzzards – inside her stomach. What was going on? Was the retaliation she had been expecting for weeks finally about to happen? She swallowed hard over the lump in her throat and kept walking, sliding into the board room just as Stephanie arrived.  
  
“I didn’t know that happy-go-lucky homewreckers were invited to this meeting,” Stephanie said.  
  
“Now, Stephanie, is that the best you can do?” Donna fluttered her eyelashes at Stephanie. “Pam told me that I needed to be here.”  
  
Pam arrived with her infamous lemon bars in hand. Stephanie leveled her sister with one stare. “Pam, what’s this all about?”  
  
Pam shrugged. “I only know that Felicia wanted Donna here.”  
  
Stephanie shook her head. “Felicia had better explain herself.” She slunk into a chair at the head of the table.  
  
“I will, Mother,” Felicia said, the next one in the door. “I promise this will all make sense. Or that’s what I am hoping for anyway.”  
  
“When are we starting?” Pam asked.  
  
“As soon as everyone gets here,” Felicia answered. She looked at Donna for a moment and Donna was sure she saw panic in her dark eyes. Then it was gone and she went to stand by the door as the rest of the family filtered in.  
  
Eric spotted Donna and came to sit beside her, reaching for her hand. Stephanie saw and gritted her teeth.  
  
“So what’s this all about?” Ridge asked.  
  
“I’d like to know too,” Steffy said. “Some of us have real work to do.” She looked at Donna accusingly.  
  
Donna shifted on her seat. She figured that Felicia was about to bring the hammer down on her. After all, she and Stephanie had vowed revenge on Donna just mere weeks before. This must be what the meeting was all about.  
  
Felicia took a deep breath. “I called you all here because … I have news for you. And I wanted you all to hear it from me first before anyone else finds out.”  
  
“Finds out what?” Thorne asked. “C’mon, baby sister; don’t keep us in suspense here.”  
  
Felicia took a deep breath. “I don’t know exactly how to say this. I practiced the perfect words to say all night long and now I can’t remember any of them. I just … Well, I’ve only recently come to terms with this, with who I am. I always knew that I was different than the rest of you, but it wasn’t until I met Gina that I knew for sure that I was living a lie.”  
  
Donna felt the breath leave her lungs. Felicia was coming out? That was what this meeting was all about?  
  
“Who is Gina?” Pam asked. “I don’t know any Ginas.”  
  
“Her name is Gina Brogno. She’s an interior decorator, working out of Venice Beach.”  
  
“Okay, but what does she have to do with anything?” Pam pressed on.  
  
“She has to do with everything. She’s my everything.” Felicia looked around the room. Her eyes were moist and she was clearly struggling to hold back tears. “This is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do, but it’s time, to be honest with all of you. Most of all, it’s time for me to be honest with myself. I hope you can all learn to be happy for me.”  
  
“You’re gay,” Ridge said. It was neither a question nor an accusation. Just a statement of realization.  
  
“That can’t be right,” Pam said. “She has a son; she’s been with men.”  
  
“I am a lesbian,” Felicia affirmed causing a ripple of surprise to run through the room. “I love my son very much. He’s everything to me and I don’t regret how he came to be, not for a moment, but even back then I knew who I really was. I was just afraid to admit it, I think. No, I know I was afraid. I didn’t want to ruin everything. The careful balance of our lives. I didn’t want the world or my family to look down on who I was born to be. I have never loved a man – not like I love Gina. I want to be with Gina. I want to raise Dino with Gina.”  
  
“Well, my god!” Pam said. “I’m shocked.”  
  
“Why are you telling us this now?” Steffy asked.  
  
“Because I can’t keep hiding in the closet,” Felicia said. “I was miserable in there and truthfully someone – someone wise –“ she briefly glanced at Donna –“made me realize that I was denying my own happiness by keeping all of this inside. So I am standing here, asking all of you to be happy for me… Mom? Dad? Can you be happy for me? I can’t pretend anymore. Please don’t ask me to.”  
  
Eric stood up, moving to his daughter and wrapping his arms around her. “Does Gina treat you well?”  
  
“Yes. She treats me like a princess.”  
  
“Then how can I be anything but happy for you? You and this Gina have my support 200 percent.”  
  
“Thanks, Dad.” A tear rolled down Felicia’s cheek. She made no move to wipe it away. “And what about you, Mother? Will you choose to be happy for me too? Will you accept me the way I am?”  
  
Stephanie nodded. “Of course I will, honey. It’s hard to wrap my mind around this but at the same time, I think there is a part of me that always knew. If you’re happy…”  
  
“I am.”  
  
“Then you have my complete support as well.”  
  
“Thank you so much.” Felicia hugged her mother tightly. Next, her siblings came forward all offering their support as well. Steffy and Thomas did the same, applauding her for living out her own truth.  
  
“I do have one question,” Pam said.  
  
“Yes?” Felicia said warily.  
  
“Why did Donna need to be privy to any of this? She’s not family.”  
  
Stephanie nodded her agreement. “And she never will be if I can help it.”  
  
“Stop it, you two,” Eric said. “Don’t ruin a beautiful moment by spewing your vitriol.”  
  
Stephanie glared at him. “I think we all have a right to know why the blonde bimbo was invited to sit in on a family moment – one as profound as this.” She looked at Felicia expectantly.  
  
“Mom, don’t be angry with Donna, okay? The truth is … she’s the one who helped me find the courage to come out.”  
  
Silence shrouded the room for a long moment. Shocked silence. Then Stephanie’s ice blue eyes flamed. “You told your father’s whore before you told me?”  
  
Donna just shook her head, crossing her arms.  
  
“Stephanie!” Eric hollered.  
  
“It’s a fair question, Eric.”  
  
Felicia sighed. “Mother, Donna found out first because she saw Gina and me together. She saw us kissing. She helped me and as far as I’m concerned, I don’t want to hate her anymore. I won’t. Please don’t ask me to.”  
  
“I see,” Stephanie said. Then she turned and walked out of the room, closely followed by her sister.  
  
Felicia looked after her mother. “And I thought it was all going so well too…” She said wistfully.  
  
Eric squeezed Felicia’s shoulder. “She does accept you, I believe that.”  
  
“She just hates me,” Donna piped up.  
  
“I hope to God she loves me more than she hates you,” Felicia said. “I don’t want her words of acceptance before to be hollow. It just seems somehow that hating you is more important than me or anyone and anything.”  
  
“If that’s true then I’m sorry… for Stephanie,” Donna said sincerely.  
  
“I don’t blame you, Donna,” Felicia said. “I actually … I appreciate what you did. And as far as I’m concerned, the stupid war I was waging against you… It’s over from this moment forward.”  
  
Donna smiled, feeling a little choked up. “Thank you.”  
  
Felicia nodded. “I think I’m going to go track down Gina. I miss her and I want her to know that I won’t hide from us anymore.”  
  
“I’m proud of you, sweetheart,” Eric said.  
  
“Thank you, Dad,” Felicia said and then walked out, holding her head a little higher than before.  
  
Soon enough the meeting had dispersed and Donna and Eric found themselves alone. Eric immediately swept Donna into his arms and kissed her long and hard.  
  
“What was that for?” Donna asked when they had come up for her air. Her lips felt deliciously bruised and puffy.  
  
“Do I need a reason?”  
  
“No…”  
  
“That was my way of thanking you. You helped my daughter out even when she’s acted so hatefully towards you. You went above and beyond… And then there’s the fact that I just love kissing you… You’re the love of my life, Donna, and it's days like this that I am reminded why you are everything to me.”  
  
“Eric…”  
  
“It’s true, honey,” Eric said. “My children’s happiness is paramount to me and you helped one of them realize today that they could be happy with who they are. You’ll never know how much that means to me.” He kissed her again and again until they were both breathless. Then he lightly rested his forehead against hers. “I love you, Donna Logan.”  
  
“I love you too, Eric Forrester. So much.”


	31. Butterflies

**31 – Butterflies**  
  
The fashion show was less than a week away and the whole of Forrester Creations was in a flurry of activity. Long days, late nights and no lunch breaks were the norm now. _Such was the nature of the business._  
  
Donna herself had been involved in one fitting after another and Brooke was helping her to perfect her strut on the cat walk.  
  
It was after nine p.m. when Donna was finally able to head home. All she wanted to do was kiss Eric and go to sleep for the next seventy-two hours, at least. She was dog-tired and her feet ached from parading around in high heels all day long.  
  
She went to Eric’s office and poked her head in the door. The room was awash in darkness. “Hmmm,” she mused. It occurred to her now that she hadn’t actually seen Eric in several hours. “Eric, where is Eric?” She wondered aloud as she walked down the long hallway.  
  
She spotted Brooke coming out of her office. “Brooke, have you seen Eric?” She asked her eldest sister.  
  
“As a matter of fact, I saw him a bit ago,” Brooke said. “He asked me to give you something and then he left.”  
  
“Where did he go? Is he okay?”  
  
“I think so,” Brooke said.  
  
“Wait. You said he left me something…”  
  
“Yes, come in here,” Brooke said and led her into the office. She moved over to her grand oak desk. Sitting atop it, amongst budget reports and some other minor clutter, was a large white gift box.  
  
“That’s for me?” Donna asked, raising an eyebrow as Brooke passed her the box.  
  
“Well it’s not for me,” Brooke said with a chuckle.  
  
“Why did Eric give you this? Why not give it to me himself?”  
  
“Just open it and maybe you’ll find your answer.”  
  
“Okay,” Donna agreed and lifted the top off of the box. Nestled amongst reams of white tissue paper was a little envelope. Donna eagerly shredded the envelope to pieces and extracted the card. She read it aloud.  
 _  
“Dearest Donna, it’s been a long few weeks and I know that you must be terribly exhausted. Likely all you want to do is sleep but tonight I’ve made other plans for us. However, I promise I’ll make this surprise worth your time. Meet me at the beach house as soon as you can… P.S. Enclosed with this note is a little something I created for you. Love, Eric.”_  
  
Donna smiled widely as did Brooke. Donna tore aside the tissue paper. She pulled out a beautiful, sleek wine-colored dress out of the box and held it against her lithe body. Right away, tears filled her eyes. “Oh, Eric,” she whispered hoarsely. She looked at her sister. “Did you know about this?”  
  
“I didn’t have a clue,” Brooke said but Donna could tell she was fibbing by the covert way she was smiling.  
  
“C’mon, Brooke, tell me what is Eric planning!”  
  
“I don’t know.”  
  
“Brooke…”  
  
“Donna, stop needling me for answers you won’t get and just get dressed already. Then go after your destiny, okay?”  
  
Donna nodded. “Okay.” She ran her fingers over the tightly woven bodice of the dress. “It’s so beautiful. I can’t believe he made this just for me … Eric is too good for me.”  
  
“Hey now. Don’t sell yourself short here. You make Eric so happy – happier than he’s ever been. And that’s a wonderful thing.” Brooke gently slapped Donna’s shoulder. “Now go get dressed and then go get your man.”  
  
“Try to stop me,” Donna said. She and Brooke laughed as Donna hurried out of the office and headed back to her dressing room. She shed her clothes quickly and slipped into the dress. It felt smooth and silky against her skin and she shivered with happiness. What was Eric up to? She couldn’t wait to find out.  
  
She headed out the door into the warm night. She was heading to her car when she heard a voice calling her name. A large man wearing a crisp black uniform and a friendly smile gestured to a limo idling at the curb.  
  
“Ms. Donna Logan?” He asked.  
  
Donna nodded. “Yes?”  
  
“Eric Forrester sent me to pick you up and bring you safely to your destination.”  
  
“Really? But I know my way home…”  
  
“He insists.”  
  
Donna nodded as a smile spread across her lips. “Alright,” she said. She then hurried to the limo. The big man opened the door and helped her inside.  
  
As they headed off into the night, Donna felt a whole army of butterflies take flight in her stomach. She knew that whatever happened tonight was going to change her life forever


	32. Tongue-Tied

**32 – Tongue-tied**  
  
The whole way to the beach house, Donna chatted animatedly with the limo driver. His name was Fred and he was a gentle giant. He also adamantly refused to divulge any information about what Eric was up planning, no matter how much Donna tried to charm him. He claimed not to know a thing, but in the rearview mirror she could see a knowing twinkle in his eye.  
  
The drive to the beach house seemed to take an inordinately long period of time but they actually arrived within fifteen minutes, traffic permitting. Fred opened the passenger door for Donna and helped her out of the limo. The lights appeared to be off in the beach house but Donna knew Eric was around somewhere. She could actually feel his presence – his love for her – so strongly.  
  
Fred walked Donna to the door and when she tried to tip him, he said that he took it as an insult. She smiled. “If you’re sure”, she said and he assured her that he was. He wished her luck – “or maybe I should say, break a leg”, then he was gone.  
  
The butterflies in Donna’s stomach had reached a crescendo with the flapping of their wings as she slipped inside the beach house. At first, Donna heard and saw nothing but finally noticed the light streaming from the back of the place.  
  
Taking a deep breath, she walked deeper into the house, heading for the warm, inviting light. “Eric?” She called out as she now noticed soft rose petals scattered on the floor, leading out the back door.  
  
She gasped as she stepped out onto the back porch. Goblets of wine sat on a table amidst an array of every one of her favorite foods. So much for their diet, she mused with a smile. Candles flickered inside wrought iron luminaries lining the terrace and white lights had been strung around the side of the house.  
  
And there was Eric –standing there with his back to the crashing ocean, smiling at her brilliantly, looking so dapper and handsome in a black tuxedo – cummerbund and all.  
  
Donna cocked her head to the side and swept her arms out. “You did all of this for me?”  
  
Eric nodded, smiling at her as she closed the distance between them. He nuzzled her chin with his freshly shaved cheek. “For you and no one else. I know you must be tired-“  
  
“Not anymore,” Donna said. “I’m anything but. Now tell me, Eric, please, what is this all about?”  
  
“It’s a celebration,” Eric said, “of you and the way I feel about you.”  
  
“Oh, Eric,” Donna murmured as she pulled him into a soft, heated kiss.  
  
Eric stroked her hair. “You look simply exquisite tonight, but then I expected nothing less. You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever known – inside and out.”  
  
Donna’s eyes moistened with tears. “Eric, you’re too much,” she said. “And I love you for it. And for the record, you’re the most handsome man I’ve ever known.”  
  
Eric pressed his hand gently to the small of her back. “You flatter me,” he teased. “Now come with me, sweetheart.”  
  
“Anywhere,” Donna said as she led her to a chair and pulled it back for her. He helped her into it and then walked around to his side of the table.  
  
“Should we start with a toast?” Eric asked as she looked at all of the fine foods before her.  
  
“Yes,” she said, picking up her goblet and staring at the frothy champagne inside of it. “What should we toast to?”  
  
“To you,” Eric said. “Tonight is all about you and what you mean to me. I love you, Donna Logan,” he said, his voice sounding thick now. “The way you look, the feelings you’re evoking in me, I almost want to-“  
  
“To what?”  
  
“Forgo my plans for tonight and ravish you here, right here on the sand,” Eric said in a husky voice.  
  
“I wouldn’t object but this beautiful dress… You designed it didn’t you?” Eric nodded. “When did you find the time to do that with all that’s going on? You really are a miracle-worker.”  
  
“Hardly. I’m just a man in love with the woman who completes him – you are that woman, Donna. You always will be.”  
  
“Eric, you are going to make me cry. And my makeup… I want to look perfect for you.”  
  
“You always do. Even when first waking up in the morning, rolling over and looking at me with such love in your eyes, you look like a billion dollars.”  
  
“You’re too sweet,” Donna said. A tear dripped down her cheek. “There they go.”  
  
“Happy tears.”  
  
“Happy, happy,” Donna agreed.  
  
“Donna,” Eric said, “I bet you’re starving. Why don’t you eat something?”  
  
“Don’t mind if I do,” Donna said and picked up her knife and fork and began to slice her filet mignon, cooked to perfection. “How’d you put this all together without me knowing?”  
  
“I had a little help from my friends – and our son.”  
  
“Marcus helped?”  
  
“Yes, he was only too glad to do it. He wants you to be happy.”  
  
“Well I am happiest with you.”  
  
Eric smiled. “Likewise.” He watched her eat and she blushed.  
  
“Aren’t you going to eat something, Eric?”  
  
“I can’t. If I do, I will have to take my eyes off you and I don’t want to – not for a moment.”  
  
“Why are you so good to me?” Donna asked, voice choked with emotion.  
  
“You make me happy, every bit as happy as I make you, and then some.”  
  
Donna watched Eric stand and move over to her. “Eric, what-“ She started but broke off as he slowly sunk to one knee. Her breath hitched in her throat and she found herself quite speechless.  
  
“I planned to wait awhile, to let you eat. Then I’d wine and dine you, dance with you in the moonlight for hours … but seeing your beautiful face right now, I can’t wait a second longer.” He fished a small black box out of his pocket and Donna immediately knew what it was, even before he opened it to reveal the huge diamond.  
  
“It’s a new ring, except for the one inset. That was from our first engagement. I wanted to remember our colorful past but also have a new ring to symbolize a bright future… One I hope you’ll be a part of, Donna. I can’t imagine my life without you in it. I don’t want to. I want to be the man you need always. I want to be your husband again.”  
  
“Eric,” she whispered.  
  
“I love you, Donna, for so many reasons. You’re the only woman in my heart. You’re kind and gentle, loving and beautiful. So beautiful that I am almost losing my breath right now just looking at you. Your heart is so open - even for my children when they give you endless trouble, you never turn them away. What you did for Felicia, I will be grateful to you forever for that. She can be happy, she can be complete the way I am with you.  
  
"I was stupid to ever let you go. I should have fought for you before. But I am here to tell you that you will never again have to doubt my love and affection for you. All I can ask now is that you marry me, Donna Logan, marry me and let’s begin a wonderful new journey together.” He reached for her right hand, threading their fingers for a moment as he held up with the ring box with his other hand.  
  
“Donna Logan, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife again?”  
  
Donna was tongue-tied for a moment, all of the emotions and excitement making it difficult to speak. Finally, she nodded vehemently, finding her voice. “Yes, Eric, yes, I will marry you!”  
  
Eric kissed the back of her hand. “You’ve just made me the happiest man on earth,” he said as he pulled the ring free and slipped it onto her hand.  
  
She admired the ring with tears streaming down her face and then eagerly leaned in for a passionate kiss. Eric’s lips locked on hers and they kissed until they were both panting.  
  
“Er-Eric,” Donna said breathlessly. “Is this what coming home feels like?”  
  
“I believe so. And I feel it too.” He then kissed her again and soon pushed himself up to a standing position, grasping her hand and leading her out onto a makeshift dance floor. They swayed together for hours, alternately talking and kissing, and making plans for what Donna was sure was their very bright future.


End file.
